It is an indisputable fact that a substantial segment of the world's population periodically is under the influence of alcohol, to varying degrees and for a variety of reasons. It is not our purpose to become involved in the moral aspects of alcohol consumption, or to delve into philosophical questions concerning the relative amounts of pleasure and pain experienced by people in general as a result of alcohol consumption. It is rather our purpose to mitigate or eliminate, to a significant degree, the most obvious physical effects of alcohol consumption.
Broadly, the two most obvious effects of alcohol consumption are intoxication, and what is commonly referred to as hang-over. Either of these effects may be experienced over a wide spectrum, ranging from barely noticeable to severe. For many years, efforts have been made to find methods or means to counter these effects. Unfortunately for the drinking public, and also for non-drinkers who may be adversely affected by members of the drinking public, previous attempts to counter the effects of alcohol consumption have generally been ineffective, or at best only of limited effect.
No attempt will be made to document all the previous attempts to counter the effect of alcohol consumption, but a few of the more popular methods will be briefly discussed to provide a reference framework. The most popular method of treating an intoxicated person, in an effort to sober the person up quickly, probably is to have the person drink coffee. Unfortunately, coffee has no significant effect on the state of intoxication, and the primary effect of coffee is to change a sleepy drunk into a wide-awake one. It has generally been accepted that the only effective remedy for intoxication is time. That is, the body must be given time to metabolize the alcohol in the blood stream and body tissues. No satisfactory manner of speeding up the process is presently known.
Ethyl alcohol is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are metabolized through what is known as the "Krebs Cycle" or the "Citric Acid Cycle." Ethyl alcohol causes intoxication, and an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase, which is produced in the liver, breaks the ethyl alcohol down to carbon dioxide and water. The secondary effect or hangover is thought to result from oxidation of the alcohol which causes a speed up in breathing, heart action and muscle action which breaks down blood sugar to lactic acid. An enzyme known as lactic acid dehydrogenase reverses this process, and converts lactic acid back to blood sugar, thereby eliminating the hangover.
As to methods of relieving the after-effects of alcohol consumption (hangover), their number is great, and they range from various concoctions of food, beverage or medicine to such things as breathing concentrated oxygen. While certain of these methods provide a degree of relief for some people, unfortunately nothing to date is completely and satisfactorily effective.
One of the greatest present problems involving persons who consume alcoholic beverages is that they often unwittingly reach a degree of intoxication greater than desirable for the activity they plan to engage in after cessation of alcohol consumption.
Thus, there is obviously a need for something that will counter the effects of alcohol consumption quickly and effectively, and such is provided by this invention.